George Peasgood: Background, career highlights, quotes
Double Paralympian and frequently on the podium in the PTS5 category, young George Peasgood's raced the paratri circuit for a decade. Here's his story so far...
Aided by his brilliant skills on the bike, George Peasgood’s greatest moment so far is surely the silver he won at the Tokyo Paralympics.
But how did he get to that point? Here’s Peasgood’s paratriathlon journey so far…
Who is George Peasgood?
Triathlon is clearly in the Peasgood blood. Both parents of Saffron Walden-born George Peasgood have completed Ironmans, while his brother Jack has represented Great Britain as an age-grouper. Plus, George’s sister-in-law/Jack’s wife is Alison Peasgood, the silver medal-winning Paralympian.
After Alison’s silver at Rio in 2016, George emulated his sister-in-law at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, a result that is undeniably his greatest yet, despite the multitude of race successes.
At the age of two, he suffered major trauma to his left leg and ankle, prompting numerous operations over the years. His legs are different lengths, while his left foot is four sizes smaller than his right. He also has no inversion or eversion in that foot. This puts him in the PTS5 class for ‘mild impairments’.
A national champion several times over, Peasgood has also picked up medals in most major international competitions, including bronzes in world and European championships.
He’s also won several races in the World Triathlon Para Series across the world, whether in Australia, Italy or Japan. Indeed, his record is extremely impressive. At the time of writing, he’s finished on the podium 29 times in 44 race starts, 10 of which have been victories.
Peasgood’s silver in Tokyo undeniably benefitted from the break in competition caused by the pandemic. During the lay-off, he and his coach focused on improving his weakest discipline – the run – and this work paid off by the time the delayed Games came around.
There’s also no argument about which is Peasgood’s strongest suit. He’s such an equipped cyclist that, alongside the triathlon, he represented Team GB in Tokyo in both the time trial and the road race.
How old is George Peasgood?
George Peasgood was born on 2 October 1995, making him 27 years of age.
George Peasgood’s career highlights
September 2013: Young success
At the age of 17, Peasgood announces himself with a bronze in the ITU World Championships in London in the TRI-5 category.
May 2015: A first national title
After a couple of seasons of consistent top-10 finishes in ITU events and European championships, Peasgood secures his first title. He is now the British champion.
April 2016: A handsome win down under
Peasgood takes an impressive victory in Sydney at the Penrith ITU World Paratriathlon event. Competing in the men’s PT4 category, it’s a comfortable victory, too, inevitably set up by the Brit putting in the only sub-31 bike leg.
September 2016: The boy in Brazil
Still only 20, Peasgood travels to Rio with an outside hope of snaffling a medal of some colour. It’s not to be, but his seventh place provides excellent experience for the next time the Games come around, in Tokyo in 2021.
June 2017: Winning is becoming a habit
Competing in the PTS5 classification, Peasgood takes bronze in the European championships in Kitzbühel, Austria. He follows it up in summer with podium finishes in both the World Triathlon Para Series and the Paratriathlon World Cup, along with bagging a third national title.
June 2018: Double WPS joy
That winning feeling continues as Peasgood records a second victory of the season in the World Triathlon Para Series, replicating his win in Yokohama the previous month with success in Franciacorta in Italy. Swift to follow is another victory, this time in the Paratriathlon World Cup in Lausanne, Switzerland.
August 2021: A silver in Tokyo
No doubt on a high from winning the inaugural paratri Super League in London that March, Peasgood experiences arguably the greatest moment of his career to date by taking silver at the Paralympics in Tokyo. Leading (unsurprisingly) off the bike, he’s unable to hold off the surge of the German Martin Schulz, but is nonetheless overjoyed at his achievement, wearing a broad smile during much of the run leg.
May 2022: Those winning ways continue
Peasgood kicks off the new season with a win in the World Triathlon Para Series in Yokohama, repeating his victory in the Japanese city 12 months earlier.
A fortnight later, Peasgood takes bronze in the European championships, and later goes on to take silver at Swansea WTPS.
George Peasgood in quotes
On the disruption caused by the pandemic: “Me and my coach took things back to basics. My run is where I’m weakest, so we knew this was where we wanted to push on, and we improved by 5k time pretty dramatically – I took 90 seconds off it. The year-long delay was a massive silver lining!”
On winning Paralympic silver in Tokyo in 2021: “I held off Martin Schulz on the run as best I could, but he passed me on the second lap. From there, I just used the crowd to get to the finish line. I was overwhelmed with the silver medal.”
On his near-fatal bike accident in October 2022: “If this had happened to anyone else, who wasn’t an athlete, I don’t think they would have survived. Less than one per cent of people walk out of the ward and I walked out. I think it comes from an elite sporting mindset, which everyone always talks about… but no one knows what it actually is!”
What’s next for George Peasgood?
George had a near-fatal bike accident in October 2022, which left him in a coma, with a traumatic brain injury and unable to walk. Doctors told his family to expect the worst. Miraculously, he woke up and was walking by February.
He’s now continuing his recovery at the Matt Hampson Foundation in Melton Mowbray, with no immediate plans to return to the sport.
Top image credit: Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Nige Tassell
Freelance sportswriter 
